Chapter 6 Visual Analysis Image Analysis

Part 1

Question

Answer

The purpose behind image analysis is ___.

To fully appreciate visual communication, you must be able to use some sort of critical method to analyze pictures. You will find that any and all images have something to tell you because every picture created has some meaning to communicate. An image, regardless of its medium of presentation is forgotten if it isn’t analyzed.

(RQ) The Six Perspectives are ___.

1. Personal : a gut reaction to the work based on subjective opinions. 2. Historical: a determination of the importance of the work based on the medium’s time line. 3. Technical: the relationship between light, the recording medium used to produce the work, and the presentation of the work. 4. Ethical: the moral and ethical responsibilities that the producer, the subject, and the viewer of the work have. 5. Cultural: an analysis of the symbols used in the work that conveys meaning within a particular society at a particular time. (This where semiotics really comes into play.) 6. Critical: the issues that transcend a particular image and shape a reasoned personal reaction. (Taking the image and making it mean something to you, even if it’s metaphorical. “What does it mean TO YOU personally, in your own life?) (Remember the picture of the woman on the dirt who found her husband after the tsunami.)

Before using any of the six perspectives, you should ___.

(Before ___) first look at all the major graphic and content elements within the frame of the picture.

The Six Perspectives

(___ is) A quick, gut-level conclusion about the picture based entirely on a personal response.

Historical Perspective is ___.

(___ is) When do you think the image was made? Is there a specific style that the image imitates?

Technical Perspective is ___.

(___ is) How was the image produced? What techniques were employed? Is the image of good quality?

Cultural Perspective is ___.

(___ is) Involves identifying the symbols used in the image and determining their meaning for the society as a whole. Closely related to the semiotics approach.

Critical Perspective is ___.

(___ is) Transcend a particular image and draw general conclusions about the medium, the culture from which it is produced, and the viewer. What do I think of this image now that I’ve spent so much time looking at and studying it?

(___ is) Categorical means unconditional, without any question of extenuating circumstances, without any exceptions. Right is right and must be done even under the most extreme conditions.

Utilitarianism is ___.

(___ is) The belief in “the greatest good for the greatest number of people.”

Hedonism is ___.

(___ is) People should “act to maximize pleasure now and not worry about the future.” Pleasures of the mind—intellectual pleasures—not physical sensations. People should fill their time with intellectual pursuits and use restraint and good judgment in their personal relationships.

Golden Mean is ___.

(___ is) Refers to finding a middle ground or a compromise between two extreme points of view or actions.

Golden Rule is ___.

(___ is) Teaches people to “love your neighbor as yourself.” This philosophy holds that an individual should be as humane as possible and never harm others by insensitive actions.

Veil of Ignorance is ___.

(___ is) The phrase “put the shoe on the other foot” is a popular adaptation of the veil of ignorance philosophy. Considers all people equal. No one class of people is entitled to advantages over any other.